ZHAW hold visiting program to benefit for “Low Carbon and Sustainable City Development” | An Exclusive Interview with Prof. Dr. Markus Prandini, Head Center for Asia Business and Ms. Dong Yang Meier, Project Manager China of School of Management and Law

(EurAsia Info- Reporter Zhang Dechun) From 13. to 17. February 2017 the Center for Asia Business at the ZHAW School of Management and Law conducted an Executive Study Trip program for a delegation from Zhenjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone (ZETDZ), with a focus on “Low Carbon and Sustainable City Development”.

China is now leading the world in clean coal power plants, nuclear plant technology and is also the largest manufacturer of solar voltaic panels. The government has already earmarked 3 trillion yuan ($440 billion) until 2020 for the development of new energy.

During the study trip a symposium about Low Carbon Technology and Energy City was held with specialists of ZHAW, City of Winterthur and local enterprises. Furthermore, the topics around Swiss Economics, Business and Culture, Innovation on Product Development, Industry 4.0, Sustainability, Energy Saving Building and Ecological Management of Chemical Parks were introduced to the participants either through lectures, workshops or company visits. EurAsia Info interviewed Prof. Dr. Markus Prandini, Head Center for Asia Business and Ms. Dong Yang Meier, Project Manager China of School of Management and Law on this visiting program.

EurAsia Info: Can you briefly introduce Zurich University Applied Sciences/ZHAW and The School of Management and Law (SML)

ZHAW: ZHAW has more than 12’000 students, the ZHAW is Switzerland’s largest, multi-disciplinary university of applied sciences. Its importance is well recognized both nationally and internationally. Two features of the university are its interdisciplinary approach and its focus on practical applicability. The ZHAW aims to achieve excellence in all aspects of its mandates: teaching, research and development, continuing education, and consulting services.

With locations in Winterthur, Zurich and Wädenswil, the ZHAW is firmly integrated in the local region whilst also collaborating with international partners. There are eight Schools in the University: Applied Linguistics; Applied Psychology; Architecture, Design and Civil Engineering; Engineering; Health Professions; Life Sciences and Facility Management; Management and Law; and Social Work.

The School of Management and Law (SML) is one of Switzerland’s leading business schools, offering internationally recognized Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs as well as a broad selection of well-established, research based continuing education programs, all of which closely cooperate with regional and national business enterprises. The school’s maxim: «Building Competence. Crossing Borders. » reflects the school’s aim to provide superior learning and training opportunities, especially as they pertain to global and international issues.

In 2015, the SML became the first business school of a Swiss university of applied sciences to be accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). A mere five percent of the world’s business schools have managed to achieve this prestigious standard of achievement awarded by the most significant international accreditation institution for business schools.

In 2012, as the first university business school in Switzerland, the SML was awarded the “Institutional Audit” quality seal by the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA).

EurAsia Info: What does ZHAW supply for this program and what kind of persons could join this program?

ZHAW: ZHAW provides diverse tailored-made study trip programs for Chinese entrepreneurs, managers and government officials as well as to MBA and EMBA students and faculty members. These programs give the participants the opportunity to exchange on best business practices at one of Switzerland’s leading business schools. Participants will get insights on how Switzerland has succeeded in establishing itself as a major player and competitor in the world market. The building blocks of the program aim to provide advanced understanding of:

Swiss Economy and Success Factors

Low Carbon Development and Sustainability

Market Expansion to Switzerland and Europe

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Banking and Finance Management

Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0

Health and Elderly Care Management

Luxury Goods Marketing and Management

The participated groups are completely flexible to choose the topics according to their individual interests and backgrounds. They are also able to determine the ratio of academic lectures, field trips to different Swiss companies, cultural and leisure programs.

EurAsia Info: At the beginning of 2017, President Xi Jinping visited Switzerland, promised to cooperate in the field of culture and education with Switzerland, what kinds of opportunities for ZHAW?

ZHAW: ZHAW is a leading university of applied science, which plays an important role in Swiss dual education system. ZHAW would have more opportunities to work together with Chinese partners on continuing training program, applied research, and consulting services for business activities between both countries. Furthermore, China is dedicated to establish vocational universities, which will provide practical studies for Chinese students. We believe ZHAW could contribute a lot in this topic.

EurAsia Info: What is ZHAW relationship with China and what cooperation with China ZHAW have already done?

ZHAW: ZHAW SML Center for Asia Business has since many years excellent relationships with Chinese business and academic partners. We provide executive advanced and tailor-made training programs for Chinese companies and government officials. We have established cooperation with seven universities in China such as Shanghai Jiaotong University, University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. With Chinese partners we conduct joint research projects with the students from both countries for Swiss and Chinese companies on the topics of international business. We exchange regularly students and scholars.

The study trip provided for Zhenjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone (ZETDZ) was a good example for the successful cooperation with China. In October 2015, a cooperation agreement was signed between Sino-Swiss Zhenjiang Ecological Industrial Park (SSZEIP) and ZHAW. In March and April 2016 a tailored-made training program was held by ZHAW SML for the first delegation from Zhenjiang on the topic of “Industry Park Management, Business Model Innovation and Green Economy”. This was the second delegation on the topic “Low Carbon and Sustainable City Development” accompanying Zhenjiang’s goal to become the leading example city domestic and internationally for low-carbon, new energy, and ecological development.

EurAsia Info: What are the advantages that students could get through learn from ZHAW?

ZHAW: Very much practice oriented study and research ZHAW could provide due to its broad network with the local and international business partners. The students learn practical skills which they could apply directly at work. Most of our students had already finished their vocational education and had professional experience, along with high-quality, practice-oriented academic study, they are very much in demand in the domestic and international job markets. As the matter of fact, our students could often find a job much easier and quicker than the graduates from the traditional academic universities.

EurAsia Info: Do you have any good suggestions for Chinese students to apply to the university?

ZHAW: They could just follow the normal application procedure, of which the details could be found in the website. The tuitions of the Swiss public universities are quite low but the requirements are usually high. The Chinese applicants should usually have already bachelor degrees or International Baccalaureate diploma, as well as certain language level. Few courses are designed in English, thus if the students don’t understand German, the majors they could choose would be very much limited in our university, as well as other universities.

EurAsia Info: By 2020, new energy is expected to constitute 17 percent of the country’s power supply – to the tune of 290 million kilowatts. New energy is an important component of the now popular low carbon economy. In addition, according to President of ZHAW Prof. Dr. Jean-Marc Piveteau, in ZHAW’s work in applied research and continuing education, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences concentrates on important societal challenges, with a particular focus on energy and social integration.

We believe through this program, it will deep cooperation between China and Switzerland, bring especially benefit for “Low Carbon and Sustainable City Development”!